It is known to fold a shirt having a longitudinally extending body with a front and a back, a collar at a top end of the body, sleeves projecting from sides of the body, and buttons on the front of the body by first orienting the shirt flat on a table with the shirt body and arms generally coplanar. Then side parts of the body are folded inward along longitudinal fold lines and the sleeves are folded down to lie on the folded-in side parts. A bottom part of the body is subsequently folded up against the back of the body along a transverse fold line such that a portion of the bottom part projects upward past the collar and some of the front buttons are positioned on the back side of the folded-up bottom part. The projecting portion of the bottom part is then tucked between the folded-in side parts and the back of the body. Clips or pins may be applied at any stage of this operation to stabilize the folded package thus formed.
European patent No. 48,773 published on Oct. 4, 1984 for R. Hoffman describes such a method where a stiffener sheet, typically of cardboard, is incorporated in the folded shirt to make a stable package. To this end the stiffener has a main panel which is laid atop the shirt before its side parts are folded inward, and an extension of the main panel projects into the collar to stiffen it and fix the position of the stiffener.
When the shirt is made of relatively fine and soft goods it can shift on the cardboard stiffener and become unsightly before it is ever displayed for sale. Furthermore any information about the shirt must be provided on a separate tag or label since the cardboard stiffener is wholly out of sight in the folded-up garment.